Abstract

Friday, March 2, 2018

Late news

A couple
of years ago, I purchased a large bottle of turmeric capsules. I’d heard that
Alzheimer’s rates in some parts of India are a good deal lower than in North
America. Unfortunately, the website I visited implied that curcumin, the active
ingredient, could only be realized by regular eating subcontinent food. And I do
like Indian food. But it was immediately clear that the rest of my family, or
even myself, would be unwilling to make a radical change in diet. I also
recall, when Paula and I visited Innsbruck, Austria, in 1991, one of the most
striking places on earth, I threw up violently, presumably on account of Indian
food.

Belatedly, I grasped that turmeric capsules could be
helpful. In January, an article in Forbes,
by Alice G. Walton, described how turmeric could help people with cognitive
problems. “Curcumin’s anti-inflammation, anti-amyloid, and possible anti-tau
properties may offer neurons protective benefits,” Waltonwrote. (Tau and amyloid plaque are the two
significant features of Alzheimer’s. Tau presents as “tangles,” amyloid as
“plaques.”). And, significantly, recent studies indicate a link between
curcumin consumption and lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease.

While the research has been described as promising, “initial
placebo-controlled trials have yielded negative results, perhaps because they
used forms of curcumin with limited “bioavailability”—the proportion of a drug
or herbal supplement that is efficacious. Apparently, the only downside of the
trial was abdominal pain, presumably caused by the spicy diet.

In her conclusion, Walton wrote, “The new study is
exciting, since it’s a true clinical study, and earlier evidence had been
mixed. Researchers have long observed that some groups of people in India have lower
incidents of Alzheimer’s disease, which is thought to be in part to the higher
intake of turmeric.” Walton also noted that studies have hinted at the
favorable aspects of turmeric, in boosting mood and calming anxiety. (Anxiety
is a frequent companion of Alzheimer’s.)

In a less august tribune, the U.K. website “Just Vitamins”
makes the blunt claim that Indian food “can break down amyloid plaques.” If
this proves to be true, this would be encouraging news, but information
highways are littered with the carcasses of projects that died from lack of
money, or lack of relevance, or both. In the meantime, I’ll be popping my
turmeric capsules, and making sure I don’t gag on them on. My ruler indicates
the capsules are just a shade over 2 centimeters.

The claim, of course, is that curcumin can break down
amyloid plaque, one of the twofacets of
Alzheimer’s. (The other is“tau,” which
presents as tangles.) And, if you haven’t noticed, I don’t have much of a
background in science. So I still have things to learn about my condition. Make
that a lot to learn. In a future
post, I will take on cellular inflammation, another topic that may leave me treading
water for a while, until I get my bearings.